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Published on: May 20, 2014
Transition Behaviors of Configurations of Colloidal Particles at a Curved Oil-Water Interface
Mina Lee1, Ming Xia2, Bum Jun Park3
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17104, Korea. mina.lee@khu.ac.kr.
Abstract:
We studied the transition behaviors of colloidal arrangements confined at a centro-symmetrically curved oil-water interface. We found that assemblies composed of several colloidal particles at the curved interface exhibit at least two unique patterns that can be attributed to two factors: heterogeneity of single-colloid self-potential and assembly kinetics. The presence of the two assembly structures indicates that an essential energy barrier between the two structures exists and that one of the structures is kinetically stable. This energy barrier can be overcome via external stimuli (e.g., convection and an optical force), leading to dynamic transitions of the assembly patterns.
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